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                  <p class="p_Heading1"><span class="f_Heading1">Environment Complexity Factors</span></p>



  
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                <p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;">Environment Complexity Factors </span><span class="f_BodyText">are used in the </span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;">Use Case Metrics</span><span class="f_BodyText"> estimation technique. You can add or modify these using the </span><span class="f_UIControl">Estimation Factors</span><span class="f_BodyText"> dialog.</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">To open this dialog, select the </span><span class="f_MenuKeyField">Settings | Estimation Factors</span><span class="f_BodyText"> menu option. Click on the </span><span class="f_UIControl">Environment Complexity Factors</span><span class="f_BodyText"> tab.</span></p>
<p class="p_TextIndentedL2"><img src="ecf.png" width="476" height="509" border="0" alt="ECF"></p>
<p class="p_SubHeadingL1"><span class="f_SubHeadingL1">Defined Environment Types</span><span class="f_SubHeadingL1"> </span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">This editable list should contain all factors affecting the general design and development environment, including team experience and knowledge, team size, expertise and other non-functional environmental factors.</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">These configured factors, whose summed </span><span class="f_MenuKeyField">Ex Values</span><span class="f_BodyText"> yield the </span><span class="f_MenuKeyField">Unadjusted ECF</span><span class="f_BodyText"> value, work together with the </span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="tcfdialog.htm">Technical Complexity Factors</a></span><span class="f_BodyText"> (TCFs) to skew the overall complexity up or down, depending on the level of technical complexity and the corresponding level of environmental support.</span></p>
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<td valign="bottom" width="955" bgcolor="#efeff7" style="width:955px; background-color:#efeff7;"><p class="p_TiporNote" style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none;"><span class="f_TiporNote">Note:</span></p>
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<td width="955" bgcolor="#f7f7ff" style="width:955px; background-color:#f7f7ff;"><p class="p_TiporNoteText"><span class="f_TiporNoteText">You can transport the Environment Complexity Factors between models, using the </span><span class="f_TiporNoteText" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="exportrefdata.htm">Export Reference Data</a></span><span class="f_TiporNoteText"> and </span><span class="f_TiporNoteText" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="importrefdata.htm">Import Reference Data</a></span><span class="f_TiporNoteText"> options on the </span><span class="f_MenuKeyField">Tools</span><span class="f_TiporNoteText"> menu.</span></p>
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<p class="p_SubHeadingL1"><span class="f_SubHeadingL1">Weight</span><span class="f_SubHeadingL1"> </span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">A </span><span class="f_MenuKeyField">Weight</span><span class="f_BodyText"> evaluates its respective factor's complexity in comparison to other factors, but is irrelevant to a project; the </span><span class="f_MenuKeyField">Value</span><span class="f_BodyText"> field assesses each factor's role within a project. The supplied factors and their associated weights are defined by the </span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;">Use Case Points Method</span><span class="f_BodyText">, although they can be adjusted to suit a project's specific requirements.</span></p>
<p class="p_SubHeadingL1"><span class="f_SubHeadingL1">Value</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">For most purposes, the only table column requiring adjustment is </span><span class="f_MenuKeyField">Value</span><span class="f_BodyText">, which indicates the degree of influence a particular factor has over the project. As a suggested gauge, a value of </span><span class="f_MenuKeyField">0</span><span class="f_BodyText"> indicates no influence, </span><span class="f_MenuKeyField">3</span><span class="f_BodyText"> indicates average influence and </span><span class="f_MenuKeyField">5</span><span class="f_BodyText"> indicates strong influence.</span></p>




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